Judge Sisi Khampepe was not upset that her recommendations on the Scorpions' future were ignored, she told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Monday in her interview for a post on the Constitutional Court.

"We can't be disappointed, we are of service to both the members of the community and the government. How they take our recommendations is beyond our control," said Khampepe who led a commission of inquiry on the Scorpions, a unit of prosecuting investigators that used to fall under the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

One of the Scorpions' cases was the now-abandoned investigation into corruption charges against Jacob Zuma before he was president.

Apart from tensions between the Scorpions and the police, the unit was also accused of having an anti-African National Congress agenda and a conspiracy against Zuma.

The Scorpions no longer exist and have been replaced by the Hawks which fall under the police, but Khampepe, a former deputy national director of public prosecutions, had recommended that the unit stayed within the NPA.

She said there was never political pressure relating to her decision.

Speaking in a manner which Justice Minister Jeff Radebe described as "well-calibrated" she spoke of her days "running around at night" coming to the aid of workers arrested while on strikes, and how she had studied at Harvard and worked on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

She said her reconciliation skills were put to the test when dealing with the police and Scorpions during the commission.

She told the JSC it was important to have more women in the judiciary as it would help women have more confidence in the system.

It would also bring the different perspective of women when adjudicating issues.

"This special contribution that women will bring into the judiciary is not a fictitious one, but it is a real one."

Khampepe said she had also been approached regarding a position as deputy judge president of the Labour Appeal Court.

Asked if she had been approached regarding withdrawing from the interview, she said: "No, I think I am a difficult person to dissuade."